


You Need To Leave

by tambourineblossom



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Chi-Chi deserves to be happy, Developmentally Disabled Son Goku, F/M, Fix-It, M/M, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, and also my son, former Chi-Chi/Son Goku, i love goku he is me, i'm gay and i love dragonball so it is gay too, not anyone bashing for that matter, not goku bashing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-09 04:36:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11097036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tambourineblossom/pseuds/tambourineblossom
Summary: Seven years after the Cell Games, Goku returns to friends and family who have largely moved on. He finds a new place for himself in Krillin and Eighteen's brownstone... and in Krillin's heart. Relationship navigation ensues, not just for Goku and Krillin but for much of the cast.Will eventually lead into the World Tournament/Majin Buu arcs but haha at this rate that'll be in 2018 sometime.Warning: Turn back now if OC children bother you.





	1. Ooh Scrumptious

Piccolo sipped at his drinking gourd from his perch atop the Son-Daimao home, quietly taking in the sounds of nature. Birds were singing, a soft breeze was blowing, and, distantly, he could hear the sounds of his wife and her-- _their_ \--children going about their day.

Life was being especially kind to the son of the demon king lately. Gohan had been accepted to Orange Star High School, which had Chichi over the moon, and Gong and Marimba were doing very well in their studies. Chichi hoped for them to be ready to attend school themselves by the time they were eight, and by all accounts they were ahead of schedule.

The only thing that could have possibly ruined their day was the sight of a man in an orange gi coming over the horizon. A man with untameable black hair, large, kind eyes, and an unshakeable grin.

"Piccolo, how ya doin', best buddy?" Goku asked as he landed on the roof, his face the very picture of excitement.

"Son," Piccolo replied curtly. If Goku were less socially inept, he may have noticed that Piccolo was calling him by his last name again. It'd been years since he'd done that; granted, it had been years since any of the family had talked to Goku at all. This was sort of the crux of the issue. Instead of finishing the conversation, Goku hopped down from the roof and walked into the front door.

"Hey there kiddo, what's your name?" Goku asked the first unfamiliar child he saw. Rather than respond, the kid retreated to the kitchen.

"Moooom, there's a weird man in the living room."

"Oh honey, that's just your father," Chichi replied, taking her son into her arms. He was too old to be handled like this, he'd insist normally, but the stranger had shaken him slightly.

"No, daddy's on the roof. This is a weird guy with my hair." He twisted a finger nervously around a lock of his own hair, frowning deeply.

"Right, your f-" Chichi froze up. "Goku's back!?"

"Heya, Chichi," Goku said. "Did I lose count of how many kids we had?"

"No, there's just been some additions to the family since you left. Forever. Seven years ago. Remember that?" Goku had faced down galactic tyrants and bio-mechanical horrors without fear, but for some reason a Chinese princess with a meat cleaver was enough to get the job done.

"Wow, time flies, am I right?" Goku rubbed the back of his head and smiled, banishing his nervousness.

"Hey mom, I invited some friends over to study, I hope that's oka...' Gohan trailed off, seeing the back of his father's head, unmistakable even after seven years. "Okay, no. Goku, you need to leave. I don't know what possessed you to come back now, but I also don't care." Gohan stormed out of the kitchen, saying to his friends that something had come up, he'd tell them about it at school tomorrow, and then stormed back in. "Well?"

"I'll be honest, Son, I'm interested as well." Piccolo walked into the kitchen as well, a young Namekian child holding onto his index finger for safety.

"Well, someone wished me back on the dragon balls. I assumed you'd tell me why when I got here."

"First I've heard of it," Piccolo muttered. "Can I speak to you, Son? Outside?"

"No problem, best buddy!" The two rejoined in the front yard.

"I know you're not a bad person. You genuinely care about your friends. You'd give your life for any of them. But you won't _LIVE_ your life for them."

"What do you mean?"

"You've blown in and out of their lives at random since the day you married Chichi. It isn't going to get any better, and we've accepted that, and now you're back from the dead after nearly a decade, and you don't understand why we might be hurt by this."

"I just figured everyone would want a chance to hang out again. I mean I don't even know the names of the two new kids living here. Plus I mean Chichi looked like she was cooking something tasty..."

"Goku! When someone dies, and stays dead, people. move. on. Do you not understand that? Don't you get how long we all spent grieving for you? Gohan only stopped going to therapy for his survivor's guilt last month. We buried you, Goku. You have a marker out back next to your grandfather. We had to move on, for our own sakes."

"....what are you saying?"

"Chichi and I are married now. We have borne children together, shared happiness and sorrow, and made her burdens my burdens. You are not her husband anymore. You are not her ANYTHING anymore. If Gohan wants to see you, I'll arrange it. If the world is in danger, I'll fight alongside you. But if you ever come here again and threaten the little slice of peace I've managed to give Chichi, I will not be nearly as nice as I am being now."

"...What should I do, then?" Goku was starting to get that fuzzy feeling behind his eyes, the one he used to get rid of by training any time living with Chichi got too confusing.

"Don't care, Son! Do whatever you want, as long as it doesn't involve my wife or kids."

"Hmm... guess I'll see what Vegeta's up to, then. Bye!" Goku instant transmissioned away, his momentary frown already wiped from his face.

"Is the weird man gone, Daddy?" the small boy who looked like Goku asked from behind Piccolo.

"He's not weird, Gong." Piccolo picked up his youngest son in one arm, ruffling his hair with his free hand. "He used to be Gohan's daddy."

"How can you 'used to be' a daddy?" Gong's expression was skeptical. "You said you're my daddy for always but why'd he stop being Gohan's daddy?"

"I'll tell you more when you're older, son. Right now all you need to know is that he saved the world more times than I can count, but made your mommy feel like she didn't matter. He's not weird, or bad, daddy just got mad at him for hurting mommy."

"Gohan doesn't like what he did to mom either," Gohan said from the doorway, crossing his arms over his chest with an uncharacteristically bitter expression on his face.


	2. (When I) See You Again

Vegeta ate his fill of seafood and rice, thankful (not for the first time) that his wife was the richest woman on Earth, and that he could eat and train as fully as his Saiyan blood demanded. Although he would never admit it aloud, moments like this were some of the most fulfilling in his life. A small smile crept onto his features as he showed Trunks how to work the crab cracker.

"Yes, that's how it's done. As expected for the heir to the throne. After lunch, we should have a workout session in the Gravity Room, just the two of us." 

"Sounds good, best buddy!" came a voice from just behind Vegeta's shoulder.

That.... that was not Trunks.

"Kakarot, what the fresh hell are you doing in my home?" Vegeta mumbled, his Saiyan blood betraying him; he should be furious or at least bitter when speaking to his rival. Instead, he found himself genuinely shocked and teary-eyed to see Goku alive after so long.

"Oh, you know. Staying in shape. Learning how to move around with a physical body again instead of just a ghost thingy. The usual. You?"

"Raising my son to beat yours," Vegeta smiled his most predatory of smiles.

"Pretty sure Gohan could beat you and me up at this point, so good luck with that."

"No, I'm talking about Goten," Vegeta snorted with a shake of his head.

"...Who's Goten?" Goku scratched his head.

"Your second son by Chichi. He looks like you, but smaller. That Goten." It was very difficult for Vegeta to look down his nose at Kakarot, being several centimeters shorter, but he did his best.

Goku looked puzzled for a moment, his brain getting as far as 'the kid back there was Goten' and 'you have a son named Goten', failing to put them together.

"Oh! Wow, I have another son? He looks just like me!" Goku grinned widely from ear to ear. "This is like when Gohan happened, except he's bigger, right?"

"... You know what, Kakarot? Sure. It's exactly like that." Vegeta had no idea what Kakarot meant by that, and he wasn't about to try finding out. He was probably close enough to correct, and Vegeta had things to do today other than explain reproduction. "How did you not know your own son's name, anyways?"

"I woulda asked him myself, but Chichi and Piccolo weren't too happy to see me for some reason. I guess they're still mad about me making Gohan fight Cell? I dunno, Chichi usually cools off after a few days even when she's really mad. Mind if I crash with you and Bulma til then?"

"Oh hell no, I am NOT getting involved with this shit-show. My advice? Try the bald one."

".... Gonna have to be more specific, 'Geets."

"Fair. The dwarf or the old man who smells like an old man. They have the room and they seem to find your company somewhat less than entirely loathsome."

"Thanks, Vegeta, I'll catch you later after I figure out where I'm sleeping byyye!" Goku yelled as he teleported away.

Trunks chewed his crab slowly and methodically, the bulk of his attention taken up by the man his father had spoken of so highly before, when pushing him to train even harder than his supposed limits. "Father, was that truly your sworn rival? He seemed more.... air-headed than you let on."

"We can't choose who we fall in rivals with, boy. You'll do well to remember that."  
======================  
"This is nice, isn't it Eighteen?" Krillin said, wearing his most dadly fall attire for one last cookout with the family before it got too cold.

"It is quite nice, yes." Eighteen cut into her hamburger with a knife and fork, savoring each individual bite. Her pink and white floral sundress was spotless, despite the grass and grilled meats surrounding them. She was doing her ironic stepford wife thing again, which Krillin was fine with. We all gotta get satisfaction where we can, and once you've been turned into a killer cyborg you pretty much have a free pass to toy around with that.

"Papa, Marron wants another hot dog." Marron held up her paper plate cutely.

"Well, Papa is going to take care of that, sweetie." Krillin fixed her another dog, handing it to her with a smile and a pat on the head.

With a slight whooshing noise and a sensation of unimaginable--yet unmistakably friendly--power, Goku appeared next to Krillin. "Krillin, best buddy! What I miss?"

"... Eighteen, can you take Marron to get Papa some ice cream?" He took a thousand zeni bill from his wallet and handed it to her, not looking in the direction of his wife and daughter to keep them from seeing his face.

"You okay, Krillin?" Goku asked.

"Are you seriously asking that? After all we've been through?" At first, Goku thought Krillin was mad.... but the way his voice was breaking... was Krillin crying? Krillin threw himself at Goku, burying his face in Goku's neck, tears dripping onto Goku's Gi. Goku put his arms around Krillin, and Krillin squeezed around Goku's waist as tight as he could. "I knew you couldn't wait for me to kick the bucket to hang out again! What's the occasion?"

"I wish I knew! Dragon balls wished me back and I figured you guys had a good reason but nobody I've talked to has even heard anything so who knows at this point. Anyways, I kinda don't have anywhere to stay at the moment, and I was wondering..."

"Absolutely, Goku. My house is your house, no questions asked. This is going to be great, we can get some training in, swap some stories, I bet you went through a rival or two in the Otherworld, huh? You've gotta be dying to talk about that."

"Oh you have no idea. His name's Pikkon and he's an ancient alien ghost, he's great."

A polite cough distracted the two from their catching-up. It was Eighteen, which mean that was absolutely an attention cough; she didn't even have lungs.

"Oh, hey honey. Goku's back and he's going to be staying with us for a while, is that okay?"

Eighteen's eyes, just for a moment, seemed to contain less blue sky or tranquil pool and more stormy seas. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. "That will be fine, my little chestnut." Okay if she lays it on this thick it means she's actually kind of upset but has decided she doesn't have a right to be. The years had granted Krillin a working knowledge of the Eighteenese language.

"It's okay if you don't want him staying, Eighteen. He's a grown man, he'll understand."

Eighteen winced. It was so hard to get her husband to understand the nuances of her moods; he would likely have understood her perfectly if she were still human, but she had had her humanity ripped from her forcefully, inside and out, and just because she wasn't shooting laser blasts right this second didn't change anything. She genuinely DID want Krillin to catch up with his old friend, and wasn't opposed to sharing her home with one of her husband's comrades, but... beneath it all, so deep it was like a bassline in her soul, was the refrain she had had stuck in her head since her rebirth. 

Kill Son Goku. Kill Son Goku. Kill Son Goku.

"It's okay, Krillin. Really." She forced a smile. "Any friend of yours is a friend of.... mine."

"Well that's settled then!" Krillin gestured to the grill. "Eat up, buddy, I bought way too much food." Not as much as he would have had he expected Goku, but he could always make another supermarket run. "I'll show you to your new room once we're done."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eighteenese was originally Juuhachigo, a pun on Eighteen's japanese name, and the japanese suffix for languages, -go. My beta suggested I change it and this was the correct call, but I have to share the joke.
> 
> Speaking of, thanks to lesleytonyb for beta-ing this chapter!


	3. They'd never believe we're just friends

A few weeks passed, and Goku and Krillin settled into their new routine. Whenever Krillin wasn't at work, he was spending time with Goku. Whether it was training, watching Marron for a few hours to give Eighteen some 'mommy time', helping each other with household chores, or just sitting on the couch quietly with a kung fu movie in the background, life was suddenly much more fulfilling that Krillin had realized it could be in years.  
  
Alas, all good things must come to an end, and one day Eighteen asked the question that Krillin had been avoiding for the better part of a month.  
  
"Have you told... Goku.... how you feel about him yet?"  
  
"What? No, I..." Krillin ran his hand through his hair nervously, not making eye contact with his wife. "It just hasn't been the right time. I mean, last night, when he held my hand during the entire movie, I almost did. But I mean, that might've been him needing something to focus on, so I didn't want to read too much into it."  
  
"Krillin, honey?" Eighteen tucked her hair behind her ear, gracing Krillin with one of her rare smiles.  
  
"Yes, Eighteen?"  
  
"Do me a favor and tell him how you feel sometime this week. I have a doctor's appointment in West City, and I'll be spending the rest of the week there." They'd decided long ago to not refer to her regular visits to see Bulma at Capsule Corp. as 'tune-ups', even though that's basically what they were.  
  
"Okay, honey. I can't promise I will, but I'll try." He smiled back at her, putting on a brave face. "I'll take care of Marron, make sure she eats right, same as always."  
  
"Thank you, Krillin." She kissed him on the forehead, then started packing her overnight bag for her visit to the Briefs compound.

* * *

  
Marron sat at the breakfast table the next morning, holding her personal knife and fork with an eager grin on her face as Uncle Goku put a small stack of miniature pancakes on her favorite Jaco the Galactic Patrolman plate.  
  
"Wow, Daddy never draws on Marron's pancakes!" She gestured excitedly at the picture of Krillin that Goku had quickly drawn on the pancakes with blueberry syrup. "Thanks, Uncle Goku!"  
  
"Aww, I'm just glad you're happy, sweetie." Goku kissed the top of her head, then divided up the remaining pancakes between a reasonable stack for Krillin, and an obscene stack for himself.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, while Krillin was washing up and Marron was watching her favorite singalong tape, Goku eased in behind Krillin, resting his head on his best friend's shoulder and wrapping his arms around Krillin's waist. Krillin jumped up a little bit from his stool, but quickly relaxed and leaned back into Goku's touch. "H-hi there, Goku."  
  
"Hey, best buddy." Goku sniffed deeply at the base of Krillin's neck, absorbing the smaller man's scent, a comforting, familiar odor he had spent so long without. "Ahh, this is just what I needed."  
  
A deep blush spread across Krillin's cheeks as he stammered out a response. "Watch out, I could fall in love with you if you're not careful," Krillin said with a forced chuckle.  
  
"I thought you already had," Goku joked.  
  
"....Wait a second, you KNEW? Have I been working myself up for weeks for no reason?"  
  
"Knew what?"  
  
"That I love you."  
  
"Oh. Ohhhh. Gosh, best buddy, I wouldn't have joked about it if I had known you really did like me. My bad."  
  
Goku thought back to his wedding day and how devastated Krillin looked. He agreed to marry Chichi because it made her happy, but he hadn't counted on making his best friend sad at the same time. Krillin hadn't wanted to talk about it, and his one attempt to broach the subject of him kissing Krillin to make him feel better had made Chichi really mad for some reason.  
  
Then time passed, and Krillin seemed to get better. He moved on, he even married Android Eighteen, how wild was that? So on some level, Goku had realized his best friend felt more than platonically towards him, but had missed that those feelings were still around.  
  
"Oh. You thought we were joking around," a crestfallen Krillin said, "which makes sense, considering that we _were_ joking ar-"  
  
Goku cut off his lie with a kiss on the lips, spinning his stool around so that Krillin was facing him, resting his hands on Krillin's hips and looking square into Krillin's eyes. "You don't have to pretend, Krillin. I'm fine with kissing you. More than fine. You are great, and fun to be around, and you don't ever yell at me when I don't understand how something works, and I don't wanna see you thinking you don't deserve to be happy. If you need me to, I'll kiss you twenty times a day til you get that into your head."  
  
"Thanks, Goku, I-"  
  
"Daddy! Marron needs juice!"  
  
"One second, sweetie!" Krillin grabbed the bottle of apple juice from the refrigerator, pouring it into one of Marron's countless sippy cups. "We can pick this up after Marron goes down for her nap, okay?"

"Alright," Goku replied. "Looking forward to it, best buddy."

* * *

  
"Masenko!" The twins cried out in unison, their ki blasts colliding and dissipating. Without missing a beat, they were charging into each other to take advantage of any gap the other left open. To an untrained eye, they seemed to disappear and reappear at random, crashing into each other with the force of a bullet train again and again.  
  
"Keep your guard up, Gong!" Piccolo yelled from beside Chichi, the two of them watching their children train together. "Your sister might go easy on you, but you shouldn't count on it from anyone else!"  
  
"Mm!" Gong said with a nod, wiping his forehead with a blue wristband then returning his attention to the fight.  
  
"Follow through with your strikes, Marimba!" Chichi shouted. "If you hesitate against your brother, you'll hesitate against a real opponent!"  
  
"Understood," the Namekian child responded, her voice barely above a whisper. She caught Gong with a brutal combo, her fists seeming to strike him simultaneously in the gut and face from ten feet away before she charged in with a kick to the side of his head. The Gong she hit, however, faded; her brother had left behind an afterimage. "Where?-"  
  
Marimba never got to finish her question, as Gong dropped out of the sky, ramming her head with his hard enough to drop them both. The two panted with exhaustion; this was the hardest either had ever pushed themselves during a spar.  
  
"That's enough," Piccolo said, helping his children to their feet. "Keep this up and you'll be able to compete in the next tenkaichi budokai."  
  
"Trunks said there was no point, he was going to beat us both," Gong said between gulps from a water bottle. "Plus he's a prince."  
  
"Well he's wrong, and if Vegeta can be a king without a kingdom, then you're a prince twice over," Piccolo said, crossing his arms. "After all, both of your grandfathers were kings.  
  
"Demon kings, which are the best kind," Chichi added.  
  
"Just don't bring that up at the tournament," Piccolo amended as the four went inside to wash up. "There's more than a few people left who shudder at my name, and I'd hate for that to hurt either of you."

That night, long after Gong and Marimba were put to bed, and Gohan was finishing up his homework in his room, Piccolo and Chichi lay in bed together, covered in sweat and both the picture of contentment. "What did I do to deserve you?" Piccolo murmured.

"You made me feel like a person again, for starters," Chichi responded, nuzzling against the crook of Piccolo's arm. "It didn't hurt that you were Gohan's father well before you were my anything. He's a good judge of character."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a bit longer to write than I expected, but I hope to be on a roughly-weekly schedule after Chiccolo week. Expect new chapters on Monday but don't get surprised if I let things slip.


End file.
